This invention relates, in general, to a precision golf tee and, in particular, to a golf tee which has a positive stop adapted to hold a ball at a predetermined height which can be varied but which is always precisely known.
Traditionally when xe2x80x9cteeing offxe2x80x9d in the sport of golf, the golf ball is placed upon a wooden or plastic device known as a tee. Tees are designed to hold the ball up off the ground so that the golfer can get maximum distance and/or elevation out of his or her first swing. Golfers vary in their preference as to how high off the ground the ball should be when teeing off. Also, different conditions call for different tee heights. Placing a ball higher off the ground and putting a back spin on the ball will cause the ball to stop dead when it lands, while placing the ball low and topping it will result in much longer drives with a lot of forward roll after the ball lands. The high or low placement of the ball is normally achieved by how far the tee is pushed into the ground.
There is a problem with this because the golfer may misjudge how far the tee is in the ground and top the ball when he meant to drive it or waste the energy of his or her swing by hitting the ground during the swing. Difficulty in judging the height of the tee-supported ball may be caused by the height of the grass, which can vary from one area to another on the same golf course, or by lack of experience.
Numerous attempts have been made to design tees that can hold the ball at different heights, but to date none has been provided with a positive stop to measure the distance above the ground together with an anchoring pin which will hold the ball at the selected height against the upward thrust of the grass.
The present invention allows a golfer to custom build a tee for any situation. And, the tee, when constructed, will exactly position a ball relative to the ground regardless of the height of the grass. By positively positioning the ball at a particular height, selected by the golfer for a particular situation, the golfer may get a more precise and uniform drive.
In the prior art various types of tees have been proposed. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,456,511 to Isserstedt shows golf tees which may be nested together.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,589,763 to Barrett shows golf tees in which a top part may be nested together with a bottom part to provide tees having different elevations. The FIG. 7 species of Barrett shows a ball support having a generally flat bottom and conical recess; however since this tee is continuously tapered and adapted to fit inside the conventional height tee shown in Barrett""s FIG. 6, the spike portion of Barrett""s tee does not have sufficient holding power to hold the disc 17 against the upward thrust of the grass.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,747,768 to Raines shows golf tees which may be used individually or nested together with other tees to form ball supports which provide tees having different elevations.
U.S. Des. Pat. No. 210,837 to Warner shows golf tees having a square shaft.
The present invention is directed to golf tees which will improve a golfer""s initial hit off the tee.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved golf tee which has a positive stop so that the distance between the top and bottom surfaces of the tee and thus the resulting height of the ball off the ground is precisely measured.
It is a further object of my invention to provide a tee where the length of the stem or pin may be varied to hold the ball at the selected height against the upward force of the grass. The present invention provides a longer stem or pin in loose or wet soil and a short stem for hard soil.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved golf tee which can be manufactured to specifications by a golfer to set the height of the ball above the ground to the golfer""s specifications.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a new and improved golf tee which will allow the golfer to know the real height of his ball above the ground surface regardless of the height of the grass.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a golf tee which may be made of wood or plastic and is designed to carry clearly legible indicia or advertisements on the outer surface.